Sunday, 2 June 2013

A specific compilation of 15 tracks from the "golden era" of gabber, approx 1995-2000. I've tried to go for a good spectrum progressing from almost hard house at the start to speedcore at the end, but with an slight emphasis on more uplifting, well crafted tracks, rather than just a load of swearing and cheesy samples over a kick drum (although there is a bit of that of course ;)). If you want a CD, simply email/PM me your address and I will send one - teamshambler@googlemail.com

This is something I've been wanting to do for a decade. I genuinely believe that some gabber has as much musical merit as any other dance/electronic music, and I wanted to try to show that with this compilation. This is a personal choice, mostly from CDs I owned, and is only partially representative of what would be played in a hardcore club at the time. For a wider selection, getting hold of the Helter Skelter Technodrome Annual would be essential: http://www.discogs.com/DJ-Producer-The-Clarkee-Helter-Skelter-The-Annual-1995-1996-The-Technodrome/release/67426

1. Technohead - The PassionA nice, haunting, chilled out and well produced track from Technohead who wrote a hardcore column for DJ, mixed compilations for React records and had a minor hit with "Who Wants To Be A Hippy" before Lee Newman sadly passed away.

2. Strychnine - Utopia ProjectAn unusually uplifting track on Industrial Strength Records, with typically ravey gabber mutating into a lovely finish. I wanted this as an intro track but it's really an outro...

9. Nordcore GMBH - RobocopThe best gabber track ever made?? I could have filled the CD with 15 copies of this, it's that good. Dark, atmospheric, europhic, and exceptionally well-crafted - the way this track builds up is as good as ANY dance music gets.

10. Liza n Eliaz - White LineHard and harsh but an unusually funky bassline, if you don't pogo around to this then check your pulse. The second track in this compilation from a sadly deceased top female producer.

11. The Shaftmen - ShaftmanSilly, vulgar, noisy and great fun. If the sampled intro doesn't earworm you senseless, you get your money back.

12 - Gabba Front Berlin - HaloActually a more recent track but one that shows the best in uplifting gabber - pretty much 220+bpm trance, packed full of melodies and madness.

13 - Disciples Of Annihilation - New York City SpeedcoreAnother mega-anthem, this time on a much harder tip - a simple stomper with a classic riff sample.14 - DJ VibeRaider - Make The Floor Burn"Doesn't that mean it goes terrifically fast??" A moshpit monster.

15. The Bezerker - The Final SacrificeThe ultimate....nothing more to be said!!